If you can read this manuscript, thank your music teacher. Actually, thank your teacher(s) for giving you the joy of being able to make music throughout your lifetime. Music teachers are a busy bunch and are constantly improving their craft. Recently there has been a big push in music education circles to find music by underrepresented composers – composers of color, women composers, LGBTQ groups etc. This is understandable considering the changing demographics of our country – and we as amateur chamber music players can reap the rewards of this work.  Since we often play music from the past, we too need to keep finding new material to enrich our repertoire. 

In the August 2026 American String Teacher Journal, Mary Gallant published a wonderful article that included a list of resources and databases that are readily available to explore, “Diversifying Repertoire in Studios and Classrooms.” One can only read the full article with a subscription to ASTA’s quarterly journal, but I’ve listed the resources that include chamber music below.

Boulanger Initiative:

Mix of professional and educational repertoire by women composers; search by “length of piece” to find easier repertoire.

Boulanger Initiative Music Database

Sphinx Catalogs:

Latin-American solo strings, orchestra and chamber music sortable by instrumentation. 

Sphinx Music Composers and Repertoire

New Muses:

A database that allows you to find underrepresented composers that sound similar to composers you already know and love. This site is fantastic. It is so well organized and easy to use. It includes videos of the music being performed, as well as where to purchase the music. Excellent resource!

New Muses Project

University of Hartford Diversity in Classical Music: 

This is more of a list of possibilities than actual music to listen to and purchase but it is very comprehensive. 

Hartford Library Guide

I’m sure these resources will enrich our musical lives. 

Editor’s Note: ACMP Foundation recently awarded a special grant to the Boulanger Initiative to help them rank the chamber music in their database by playing level (both of the individual parts and the full scores.) Since the database is so comprehensive, they are starting with string quartets by historic women composers in the public domain.